Monday, August 9, 2010

Fig tart with goat cheese and rosemary

When the figs are ready, there are so many it's hard to know where to start. I get tired of jam and fig cake; though the fig cake freezes extremely well and is a great treat in, say, January, it takes up a lot of room in the freezer, so I have to time it properly.

The figs from my secret trees (okay, not such a secret, they're behind the place where I do Pilates) are mostly brown, small and sweet, not a variety I've been able to identify. Last year when I was drowning in them, I paired them with goat cheese and fresh rosemary for this fig tart. You might really want to call it fig pie, but either way, it's fig delicious and fig unusual. I brought it to work last summer and got lots of compliments.

Note: I like this simple press-in crust made with olive oil for this fig tart, because it's easy and the olive oil flavor augments the rosemary. If you prefer a different crust method, by all means use it.

Fresh fig tart with goat cheese and rosemary

2 cups chopped fresh figs, any variety

3/4 cup sugar, divided

juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

2 tsp cornstarch

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup milk or cream

4 ounces fresh goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Mix the chopped figs in a bowl with 1/2 cup of the sugar, the lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of the chopped rosemary, and the cornstarch. Let sit about 30 minutes; the sugar will draw the juices out of the figs and make a syrup.

In a pie plate or 8-by-8-inch baking pan, stir together the flour, salt, the remaining 1 Tbsp rosemary, and the remaining 1/4 cup of the sugar with a fork. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil and milk or cream with the same fork. Pour the olive oil mixture into the flour mixture and bring the dough together with the fork; do not overmix or the crust will be tough. When all the ingredients have been incorporated but the dough is still crumbly, use your fingers to pat it up the sides and into the bottom of the pan.

In a small mixing bowl, mash the goat cheese and lemon zest with a little bit of warm water, just to thin it a little. Spread the goat cheese mixture over the crust. Pour the figs on top, with their juices.

Bake the tart 45 minutes or until the crust is browned around the edges and the fig mixture is bubbling at the sides. Let cool fully before slicing and serving. The pieces may not come out neatly, but they will taste divine nonetheless.

Nancy and Belly - each of you very likely has at least one neighbor with a fig tree and no desire to do anything with the fruit. Stake out these trees. I have knocked on strangers' doors in my neighborhood, introduced myself, and politely inquired whether they have extra fruit when the tree ripens. Works every time.

I'm with Belly (hi Pamela!). They don't make it anywhere except my mouth. I don't know anyone with a tree and have to pay up the wazoo every summer. You said you wouldn't pay $5, but figs are my truffles. : )

Figs and goat cheese were made for one another...even the thought of this delicious tart is making my mouth sing. I would love to serve this at the end of a long dinner party with a glass of wine to top it off.

If you're still short on figs, swing by my house. The tree I have on my driveway is a long-standing neighborhood jewel; we have neighbors who have admitted to coming by for the last 30+ years to have our figs.

Maybe I should time it so we have an RGB dinner party on the garden when the figs